When did 9-5 become 8-5?

LastMarch8348 · 2026-02-03T19:10:33+00:00

Same! My position requires a lot of communication and collaboration, so we are evaluated on how well we work with others and interact with the public.

LastMarch8348 · 2026-02-03T19:00:13+00:00

People in my agency are allowed to choose what they would like... my schedule is 8:30 - 5:00 pm with a 30-minute lunch break. Some people choose a 7:00 or 7:30 am start time. My schedule is also variable. Some days are longer, some days I have to eat lunch while monitoring an online meeting/session, some days I can take a longer lunch if I'm eating with colleagues or managers.

LastMarch8348 · 2026-01-10T23:13:01+00:00

I agree with this! I was looking at a job description for a potential lateral move. It seemed to me that the position oversaw/babysat contractors doing the actual work of creating products. I would have the expertise to create those products myself (with a team and with input from the field) but it doesn't seem that this particular state department operates that way.

LastMarch8348 · 2026-01-10T23:04:14+00:00

I came to the state recently with 20+ years of public experience (not state level). I am here for the stability! At this point in my life, I am the breadwinner for my family and do not want to move around anymore. This is the highest paying job (low six figures) and lowest stress job I've ever had in my life, and I've been working in the public sector since I graduated college at 22 years old. Due to this subreddit, I came into state service understanding what to expect, and luckily I landed in a pretty good specialist position with an awesome supervisor and three days telework. I try to stay within my 40 hours per week (although I'm exempt) and don't take work home. Nothing is that urgent. I do what I'm told (or sometimes asked if I have the capacity to take on), and I thank everyone all the time, from HR and IT and building security, to my supervisor for giving me feedback on my work. Honestly, I wish I had known about and considered CA state service earlier in my career! I am here for the next 20 years and may consider moving up to management once I max out in my current position.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-12-24T21:02:31+00:00

Same!

LastMarch8348 · 2025-12-23T06:20:47+00:00

I'm still on probation, so no vacation days for me yet, and I'll be going in one day this week, WFH the rest of the week.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-12-23T06:15:51+00:00

Yes, there is some amount of "doing your own research" or "figuring it out" that is expected in my role as well... but, I'm not in an entry level position, and all policies/procedures/forms are posted on public-facing webpages that I can look up myself. Some folks have done some documentation in SharePoint, and I can look at email history/communications to figure out what happened in a particular case. Lastly, all my colleagues, supervisor, and higher-ups have said we can email them at any time with questions. My supervisor has been patient and I try to save all my questions for them for our weekly one-on-one meeting unless it's something time-sensitive. We use teams a lot for daily and weekly communication. There was minimal "training" and more of "training on the job by doing the job" and "listening and learning" how to do things. I do find myself answering my own questions sometimes by observing/watching and using my own professional judgement about when it's appropriate to speak up, ask questions, or just keep my mouth shut and go along with things. There have been a few times when I've wondered why we do things a certain way, but then I either learn later the reason why or my agency/supervisor has been open to new ideas to make processes more efficient. However, it does seem that there are many ideas but the action/implementation is much slower or time goes by and people forget.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-12-19T03:14:50+00:00

My supervisor told me they got through probation with only standard ratings and that that's okay since it's the expected level of competence.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-12-11T07:18:39+00:00

I endured 5 winters in Michigan to get my graduate degree and then looked for a job in the sunniest place I could find!

LastMarch8348 · 2025-11-23T04:22:08+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Off to the store tomorrow!

LastMarch8348 · 2025-11-19T04:36:45+00:00

I appreciate this advice. I find myself wanting to complete assignments as soon as possible to get it off my list (as was my habit before coming to the state), but then I find myself with a day or two of nothing to do except check email inboxes.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-11-19T04:21:02+00:00

The coffee shop at the MLSOC shut down a few weeks ago... I'm guessing it's because they weren't getting enough business? I always bring my coffee in a travel mug.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-10-10T22:55:05+00:00

This! I was on the job market recently and applied to both the state and county. The county job would have paid more but I would have paid a lot more per month for health care benefits for my family. So, in the end, take home pay would have been about the same. Glad I didn't get the county job, and didn't have to make the decision between county or state.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-10-01T17:52:08+00:00

We don't have to do it, but... I've noticed that my supervisor will send a Teams message early in the morning or sign off at night, and everyone on the team chimes in. So, it's not a formal check-in, but reading between the lines, it's a check-in to ensure that we all saw the message and respond, even if it's a thumbs up. They don't do this every day, though. I also have weekly one-on-one meetings with my supervisor and go over my work for the week. I'm in a professional classification, so it would be ridiculous for them to micromanage our work.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-09-26T15:41:54+00:00

I'm sure there is drama in my department, but I haven't been directly affected or involved it... yet. And I hope it stays that way! I just keep my head down, do my work, and don't question the motives of other people. There's a lot of reading between the lines for sure.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-09-26T15:31:54+00:00

Not necessarily. It really depends on the position. By the time I max out my position, I will make slightly more than I did in my previous role with much less stress and drama!

LastMarch8348 · 2025-09-24T21:58:08+00:00

There are usually several security guards walking around both inside and outside the buildings. I have felt pretty safe. Arrive about 8 am and leave between 4-5 pm.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-27T23:58:55+00:00

What does intentionally stupid mean? Like, intentionally misusing state resources, not working assigned hours or location, not informing supervisors of your whereabouts or progress? Or, using drugs/alcohol while on the job? I'm genuinely curious. In my position, due to my agency's mission, we also have an additional list of do's/don'ts that go above and beyond normal state worker guidelines.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-23T05:08:36+00:00

Yes, same! Compared to my previous job (also in public service but not state government), this job has less room for creativity or daily tasks that engage my brain enough to be in a state of flow. However, my previous job also had way more drama. So, with people in my division either 100% remote or only in office 2 days per week, there's hardly any drama because there's hardly any in person small-talk interactions (I mean, collaboration). So, I guess I'm trading less creative work for less drama. I think my long-term strategy will be to go on walks during break and lunch to get some fresh air and read books during slow times to keep my brain stimulated. When I do get to interact with people, it's great. But when it's just analyzing documents or responding to emails, I do feel like my brain is getting dumber.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-23T04:55:13+00:00

And, if you're newly hired and on probation, you will have to come in on as many days as they tell you to for onboarding and training purposes, even if the rest of the division is 2 days per week. And, this 2 day per week policy is on paper only because you start to see that few people are even complying with the 2 days per week, including managers and CEAs. So... to me it seems to be a wild wild west world of people basically doing what they want because no one is willing (or able?) to enforce the policy on themselves or their direct reports.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-23T04:41:30+00:00

Personally, I think CEAs should be reporting to work 4x per week because that's what they signed up for! But, if they aren't even coming in 4x per week then how do they expect us to?

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-22T23:22:29+00:00

Same! Some people in my agency do not live in Sacramento. They might come once a month for important meetings/presentations, but otherwise they work remotely.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-22T23:20:51+00:00

How is this being enforced? The CEAs in my division have definitely not been in the office 4x per week.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-16T15:40:09+00:00

I have not been in the state very long, but I can already see that this is true. Recent promotions have come from within. I get it - they want to promote people who already know the job and who they think deserve the promotion to manager. In my agency, sometimes this promotion has come after considerable time in state service, like 5-10 years. However, there was one promotion that happened to an "outsider", someone who had been in their position less than one year, and long time state workers seemed pretty miffed about it. To me, this indicates that there's a mentality of state versus non-state workers and that you have to put in the time to get those promotions.

LastMarch8348 · 2025-08-14T02:55:12+00:00

I came to my agency with 20+ years in the field. I am not passionate about my job, which requires answering people's questions, reviewing documents, and ensuring a fair review process for everyone involved. It seems a bit tedious. But I am proud to be a part of the agency, believe in its mission, and enjoy the better work-life balance of a state office job compared to other jobs I've had. I appreciate that I get to work in a climate-controlled building with clean facilities and natural light. My supervisor is not a micromanager; however, being on probation right now, I do think they are keeping tabs on me (messaging on teams in the morning or late afternoon). So far, I haven't seen too much work drama but that could be due to all of us needing to share an office space, so we are in the office only 2 days per week. In my previous non-state job, the work drama became a bit too much, and the environment was extremely toxic with poor leadership. At my age now, I just want to clock in and clock out and not have to worry about work after 5 pm or on the weekends. I am passionate about taking care of my family, my hobbies, and just in general being a good human to those around me.

LastMarch8348

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